"This is not about being heard. This is about trying to cash in, in a pathetic way, on some notoriety," Sara Nelson, Publishers Weekly editor in chief, told The Associated Press. "That a person keeps wanting to bring this up seems almost nutty to me."

Patricia Schroeder, president of the American Association of Publishers, described the news to the AP as sickening.

"But I think it's going to stir an awful lot of debate and make the culture take a real look at itself, and that may not be unhealthy," Schroeder said.

A Harper Collins news release for the book quotes Simpson as saying "I'm going to tell you a story you've never heard before, because no one knows this story the way I know it.

"It takes place on the night of June 12, 1994, and it concerns the murder of my ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her young friend, Ronald Goldman. I want you to forget everything you think you know about that night, because I know the facts better than anyone."

The release goes on to say that the book will provide "for the first time ever, a bone-chilling account of the night of the murders, in which Simpson pictures himself at the center of the action."

On Wednesday, Regan told the AP that "this is an historic case, and I consider this his confession."

Neither Regan nor her publicist returned calls from ABC News for comment. Simpson couldn't be reached, and his last-known attorney disavowed any knowledge of the deal.

In a statement, Denise Brown said she and her family hoped that "Ms. Regan takes full accountability for promoting the wrongdoing of criminals and leveraging this forum and the actions of 'Simpson' to commercialize abuse."

Fred Goldman told ABC News that his attorneys were looking into whether the Goldman family could use the courts to seize any profits Simpson made from the interviews or book, but that he expected an uphill battle.

"It's so morally reprehensible that it's hard to fathom," he told ABC News. "It's remarkable to me that a major network and a major publisher would get themselves involved with a murderer, and air and discuss how he would murder two people -- one of them being the mother of his children."

Turning his ire on Fox Television, which will air the interview, Goldman said, "Are they going to have a murderer on air next week? Is this a new series they're going to do? It's amazing to me."

"I think the public needs to send a message to the likes of Fox and Regan and such that this is not the kind of garbage that we need to have shoved in our faces," Goldman said. "It's insulting to my family, to Ron's memory, to Nicole's memory. … It's insulting to all victims of crime."

"My take on it?" Lange said. "All he needs to do is look at the evidence, and it will tell him already how he did it. … The evidence hasn't changed for 12 years. He can admit to the murders. He can say, 'I killed them. Come and get me,' and he won't be prosecuted.